The San Diego Film Critics Society hosted a reception on Wednesday, August 31, for Elizabeth Olsen and Sean Durkin, the star and director, respectively, of the critically acclaimed Sundance Film Festival prize winner, Martha Marcy May Marlene. The two participated in a Q & A after an advanced screening of their film at the Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas. Martha Marcy May Marlene opens in San Diego in limited release on October 28, 2011.

(l to r: Elizabeth Olsen, Sean Durkin, Anders Wright - SDFCS President)

-All photos courtesy of Glenn Heath Jr.

In conjunction with Reading Cinemas and Fantagraphics Books, the San Diego Film Critics Society will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Terry Zwigoff’s 2001 film Ghost World with a 35 mm screening at 9 p.m., Saturday, July 23, at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas in downtown San Diego. The screening will take place during Comic-Con, the world’s largest comic book and pop culture convention. Tickets for the event are only $5, and Comic-Con badges are not required.

“Not every movie adapted from a comic book or graphic novel is about superheroes. Ghost World proves that comics and movies can stay closer to reality and still have a major emotional impact,” said Anders Wright, President of the San Diego Film Critics Society. “Daniel Clowes’ original graphic novel was groundbreaking—it was funny and strange and touching, and his collaboration with Zwigoff truly captured its spirit on film.”

The movie follows two recent high school graduates, Enid and Rebecca, played by Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson, respectively, who impulsively play a nasty prank on middle-aged middle-manager Seymour (Steve Buscemi), which results in a friendship between Enid and Seymour that will have a lasting impact on each of them.

Scarlett Johansson (left) and Thora Birch in Ghost World

Upon its release, the San Diego Film Critics Society awarded Ghost World with Best Picture honors at the end of the year, and gave Zwigoff its annual Best Director award. The film also earned Zwigoff and Clowes a Best Adapted Screenplay award, and lead actress Thora Birch was named Best Actress.

“Ghost World is a really wonderful film, and since we gave it so much recognition when it was released, we felt we should celebrate its 10-year anniversary on the big screen,” said Wright. “It’s almost impossible to see a movie that’s more than a month old in a theater these days, but Reading Cinemas has worked with us to keep prices affordable, so fans and future fans can see it together.”

Thora Birch and several members of the San Diego Film Critics Society will be on hand for the screening, and will host a discussion after the movie. Reading Gaslamp Cinemas is located at 701 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA, 92101. Tickets will be available when the box office opens on Saturday, July 23.

While our awards are the product of a group vote, each society member has their own take on the best and worst films of the year. As they’re released, links to individual lists will be collected here.

· Kevin Finnerty - right click to download podcasts, click to open in browser
Best Films (posted Jan. 2nd, 2011) / Worst Films (posted Jan. 9th, 2011)

· Ian Forbes (posted Dec. 31st, 2010)

· Alison Gang (posted Dec. 30th, 2010)

· Jeri Jacquin (posted Dec. 30th, 2010)

· Scott Marks (posted Dec. 21st, 2010)

· Robert Patrick (posted Jan. 7th, 2011)

· Diana Saenger (posted Jan. 3rd, 2011)

· Anders Wright (posted Dec. 29th, 2010)

The San Diego Film Critics Society gave out their annual awards today, with Winter’s Bone taking top prize for Best Film and also claiming Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence) and Best Supporting Actor (John Hawkes). It was the only film to receive multiple awards. Best Actor went to Colin Farrell’s performance in Ondine while Lesley Manville (Another Year) took Best Supporting Actress.

In general, the SDFCS bucked the trend of critics associations awarding The Social Network multiple honors (though it did win Best Original Screenplay, written by Aaron Sorkin). For a full list of winners and nominees, click here.

The San Diego Film Critics Society presents a screening of the Sundance Film Festival audience and critical favorite Douchebag, a comedy-drama about two long-estranged brothers on an eventful, soul-searching road trip.

The screening takes place at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at Landmark’s Hillcrest Cinemas. There is a $10 suggested donation, and tickets will be available at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Greg Muskovitz Scholarship Fund and Film School Confidential, an annual student film festival in San Diego.

The filmmakers and lead actors will appear at the screening and participate in a Q/A session. More information on the film at IMDB.

Inglourious Basterds was voted Best Film of 2009 by the San Diego Film Critics Society on Tuesday.

The film, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, tells the story of several disparate characters navigating survival and revenge in the chaos of World War II Europe, employing Tarantino’s merge of comedy, violence, poignancy and pathos. The critics voted Tarantino as Best Director, and also chose his Inglourious Basterds as Best Original Screenplay. The film won six awards total from the group.

The society’s critics, comprising print, television, radio and Internet critics working in San Diego County, voted Michelle Monaghan as Best Actress for her riveting portrayal as a carefree long-haul trucker whose life suddenly changes in the indie film Trucker. Colin Firth, playing a college professor devastated by the loss of his longtime partner in A Single Man, was voted Best Actor.

Earning the Best Supporting Actress nod was Samantha Morton for her performance as a grieving war widow in The Messenger. The critics voted Christoph Waltz as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the ever-deceptive Nazi officer in Inglourious Basterds.

The critics honored Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on the novella by Roald Dahl.

Chosen as Best Foreign Language Film was Il Divo, the story of persevering Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.

The critics voted the Disney-Pixar film Up as Best Animated Film.

The Best Documentary award went to The Cove, documenting the killing of dolphins in a Japanese fishing village.

For Best Cinematography honors, the critics chose Javier Aguirresarobe for his work on The Road, while honoring David Wasco for Best Production Design on Inglourious Basterds.

Winner of the Best Editing award went to Alan Edward Bell for his efforts on the film (500) Days of Summer.

Winning for Best Score was Abel Korzeniowski for the music in A Single Man. The cast of “Inglourious Basterds” was honored for Best Ensemble Performance.

The critics honored Woody Harrelson for Body of Work during 2009, citing the actor’s performances in the films The Messenger, Zombieland and 2012.

The critics chose the Reading Cinemas Gaslamp Stadium 15 to receive the annual Kyle Counts Award. The award, named after the late San Diego film critic, honors those who have made contributions to film in the city. The critics cited the Reading Cinemas Gaslamp Stadium 15 for its bold and consistent booking of vital new independent and foreign films.

The San Diego Film Critics Society held their annual awards luncheon on February 24, 2009 at the Prado Restaurant in beautiful Balboa Park in San Diego, California. On hand were the SDFCS members, invited quests and VIPS. Accepting his SDFCS award for Best Production for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was Donald Graham Burt, who won the Academy Award for Achievement in Art Direction just two days earlier. Burt attended the awards with his wife, Yan, a former independent filmmaker. Burt addressed the group and spoke about his methods for creating the look of Button, what he liked about the film and how much he enjoys working with David Fincher, the director of the movie.

Also honored at the luncheon was Destin Cretton, a San Diego film student and Jury Prize winner for Best Short Film at Sundance. Destin spoke about his efforts to promote his film, Short Term 12, and the next film he is working on.

The Critics’ Kyle Counts Award was given to the San Diego Library in support of their film program. Lynn Whitehouse and her assistant Ralph DeLauro, were on hand from the Library to accept their awards.

Slumdog Millionaire was voted Best Film of 2008 by the San Diego Film Critics Society on December 15th. The drama concerning a young man’s epic upbringing in bustling Mumbai earned the nod over runner-up The Dark Knight. The critics, comprising print, television, radio and Internet critics working in San Diego County, chose Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle as Best Director.

Kate Winslet, playing a former German prison guard who engages in an affair with a younger man in the drama The Reader, was voted Best Actress. The critics chose Mickey Rourke as Best Actor for his work as a washed-up athlete making a desperate comeback attempt in The Wrestler. Marisa Tomei, playing the equally desperate stripper and single mother who befriends Rourke’s character in The Wrestler, was voted Best Supporting Actress. The late Heath Ledger was honored for his kinetic work as the Joker in The Dark Knight, earning the Best Supporting Actor award.

The critics gave the Best Original Screenplay award to Tom McCarthy for The Visitor, while honoring Simon Beaufoy for Best Adapted Screenplay for Slumdog Millionaire, working from Vikas Swarup’s novel.

In what might be called the year of the vampire, the critics voted the Swedish vampire drama Let the Right One In as Best Foreign Language Film. Man on Wire was chosen as Best Documentary. Wall-E was voted Best Animated Film.

Anthony Dod Mantle was honored for Best Cinematography for his work on Slumdog Millionaire, while Donald Graham Burt won Best Production Design honors for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The critics chose Chris Dickens and his work on Slumdog Millionaire for Best Editing. A.R. Rahman won for Best Score for Slumdog Millionaire.

The cast of Frost/Nixon was honored for Best Ensemble Performance. The critics also honored Richard Jenkins for Body of Work for 2008, citing his performances in The Visitor, Burn After Reading, Step Brothers and The Tale of Desperaux.

The San Diego Film Critics Society chose the film program at the San Diego Central Library for its annual Kyle Counts Award, named for the late San Diego film critic. The film program was honored for its outstanding contribution to film education and its commitment to eclectic and excellent free public film programs.

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